E-GOVERNMENT LITERACY AT THE LIBRARY

Rebekah EppleyOakland Public Library

The Mission of the Oakland Public Library is to

Inform

Inspire

Delight

Government Documents

Inform, yes.

But Inspire?

Delight?

Oakland Public Library designed E- Government Literacy at the Library to:

• Make library users aware of the e-government and community resources available to them.

• Help library users access these e-government and community resources.

What do our patrons want?

FDLP Survey• Create online tutorials to explain

government activities.

• Government content is difficult to find.

• 60% can’t find the government resources they need.

• 43% said more training should be available to patrons.

Old Model

New Model

Print Toolkit

Insert Picture

Electronic Toolkit

Collection Development

Partners• Alameda County Small Business

Development Center

• Legal Assistance to Seniors

• East Bay Community Law Center

• Association of Bay Area Governments

Community Programs• 7 Community Programs and 2 Staff

Trainings with 180+ participants

• Majority said they increased their knowledge of e-government resources

What Happened• Participants learned where to look for e-

government resources.

• Attendees were given a platform to ask questions and receive answers.

• Participants shared specific situations.

What our Patrons Said• “I can do this at home?”

• “Ordinarily you have to walk into a huge system and you don’t know where to start. This [program] is like an arm into the system.”

• “Now I know where to access housing resources in the city of Oakland.”

• “Thank you for a great evening. Please consider 1 or 2 meetings like this each month.”

Calls for More Partnerships

• Alameda County Small Business Development Center

• ASCEND School